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Matt Gallinger

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Grumph shared an article.

Die, DM, Die! www.wizards.com

July 13, 2012 at 1:13pm
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2 / 56

Rartemass

For the poll, I don't actually use a DM screen. All dice are rolled in front of the players.
I do however make random arbitrary rolls with zero meaning to throw them off. I add either excited or upset expressions (or the much loathed by my players - evil grin).
This way they never truly know what the dice rolls are for except for attacks and the occasional skill check.

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July 15, 2012 5:49 PM PDT

Goken100

I thought I'd found the perfect dm dice shortcut: the d&d virtual table! I had all the characters and monsters pre-loaded, and the players at the table never knew I was doing anything different (other than much faster monster turns). Sadly that all ends after July. I can only hope the next version of d&d will have even better digital integration options.

July 18, 2012 4:20 AM PDT

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Grumph shared an article.

Bounded Accuracy wizards.com

June 4, 2012 at 9:34am
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PrestonSnow

I know this is a long shot, since your comment is 5 months old at the time of my reply, but bounded accuracy essentially describes a paradigm shift in the "mathematical engine" that runs behind the scenes. In earlier editions there was this ever-escalating quasi-arms race between the PCs and the DM, with the PCs gaining ability bonuses and attack bonuses every level making it increasingly difficult for the DM to construct challenging encounters. The bounded accuracy system spaces out these...

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March 14, 2013 10:00 AM PDT

Greyson

Thanks for the input on this, PrestonSnow. Now it makes sense. And you nailed something I do to this day in 4E - "level-up" creatures so they are a challenge to the party.

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April 3, 2013 9:39 AM PDT

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Grumph shared an article.

Hit Points, Our Old Friend wizards.com

May 21, 2012 at 3:01pm
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LupusRegalis

First off, I like the Hit Dice mechanics for healing, and don’t have a problem with how HP’s are gained each level. Those are fine, but I think some of the other posters are right, just call ‘Hit Dice’ used for natural healing something else (surges, first aid, recovery dice, etc).
‘Hit Points’, as defined by M.Mearls, raises my hackles. Actually, it’s just a different way of saying ‘Wound Points’ and ‘Vitality Points’ like the Star Wars games. Which I liked, and they worked well, but...

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June 13, 2012 5:47 AM PDT

Skyshroud7

its fine, please turn this game back to 3.5 make your millions again, revamp it correctly and we'll love wotc for it.

July 11, 2012 9:42 PM PDT

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Grumph added a comment to WotC_Trevor's blog post on the DnD Next group.

Skills and Task Resolution
Since 2nd Edition, the principle methods of character customization lived in...

May 16, 2012 at 10:05am
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2 / 177

name_less_one

I agree with some observations. One thing that frustrated me to no end in 4ed was that players looked up to "Skills" section of their character sheets as some kind of choice menu.
Considering that skill system is mostly used out of combat, in roleplaying situations - it felt like it was overly restricting. Furthermore, penalizing party for failures created a situation where players would pass on interesting ideas because their characters are unlikely to make the roll.
I also didn't...

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July 22, 2012 10:31 AM PDT

rghammill

I think that ability checks could work for all 'skill' checks. But there are two things missing from that basic approach. The first is that some skills really do require learning and, secondly, people can get better with practice.
But I think it's a very simple prospect to address both while still retaining the same mechanic.
First is to have a small list of skills that require training (acrobatics, swimming, etc.). There would have to be a mechanic for limiting the number and types....

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August 13, 2012 3:16 PM PDT

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Grumph added a comment to WotC_Trevor's blog post on the DnD Next group.

Goblins Care Only About Your Axe
I’ve played a lot of D&D lately. But even when using rules prone to...

May 10, 2012 at 11:57am
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Azoreth

It is a very smart idea to be able to incorperate both styles of play (TotM/grid) into one game system. Not only do you find both types of encounters (2 guards/big final battle) and both types of players' tastes. But it would create a great amount of flexibility in the game itself. That is what our imagination can do, now D&D might do it as well. I love the fact that a DM or module would have the freedom to say "You know, they would probably post a pair of guards." and be able to run it quickly...

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June 16, 2012 1:29 PM PDT

Gnurd0

This is intriguing, and I have to admit, I haven't really given much thought as to whether or not a particular encounter warrants grid and minis (I'm a bit of a grognard). This will be interesting to see. I'm actually going to start trying more TotM style combats in my games for the smaller encounters.

July 12, 2012 2:42 PM PDT

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GMChris voted in the poll, "Feat Choice".

May 4, 2012 at 1:31pm
GMChris voted in the poll, "In a game that provides limited access to self-healing, which do you prefer?".

April 26, 2012 at 10:08am

1 person likes this poll.
GMChris voted in the poll, "What kind of access should player characters have to self-healing?".

April 26, 2012 at 10:07am

1 person likes this poll.
GMChris voted in the poll, "Even more crazy or new stuff (elaborate in the comments)".

April 20, 2012 at 3:11pm

1 person likes this poll.
GMChris voted in the poll, "Gain noncombat bonuses in the pursuit of evil or the protection of others ".

April 20, 2012 at 3:11pm

1 person likes this poll.
GMChris voted in the poll, "Resist damage from evil foes ".

April 20, 2012 at 3:11pm

1 person likes this poll.
GMChris voted in the poll, "Smite evil foes ".

April 20, 2012 at 3:10pm

1 person likes this poll.
GMChris voted in the poll, "Protect his or her allies ".

April 20, 2012 at 3:10pm

1 person likes this poll.
GMChris voted in the poll, "Be an expert at mounted combat ".

April 20, 2012 at 3:10pm

1 person likes this poll.
GMChris voted in the poll, "Morale".

April 13, 2012 at 11:16am

1 person likes this poll.
Grumph posted to TheLyons' forum thread.

Forum Topic: D&D Miniatures and 5e: What do you want to see (or not see)?

April 13, 2012 at 10:01am
Grumph added a comment to WotC_GregB's blog post on the DnD Next group.

Imagination, the Grid, and Points Between
When I first started playing D&D oh so many years ago, fights with monsters...

April 12, 2012 at 9:19am
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2 / 153

ruttentud

I don't understand why people relate using a grid & miniatures to having deep and fulfilling combat. In my experience, people who play with miniatures are more prone to metagaming during combat - and that is definitely NOT fun nor fulfilling for me. Not using a grid invokes more creative actions I think, but using a grid doesn't prohibit you from doing anything (if it does, you've got the wrong DM!)

June 19, 2012 1:17 PM PDT

Kayal

I agree with ruttentud & find TotM combats much more fulfilling than tactical grid battles ... when the battle occurs entirely in your imagination, it isn't restricted by the position of miniatures on the playing field.
So, when Seti says (a page back) that "theatre of the mind can work, if the group doesn't want complex, fulfilling combat encounters" he is clearly seeing things differently than I do (and being a little demeaning, as well).
While miniature combat can be complex in...

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June 26, 2012 2:29 PM PDT

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GMChris voted in the poll, "Simulating Combat".

April 12, 2012 at 9:12am

3 people like this poll.
Grumph shared an article.

Brown Is Nothing but Dark Beige www.wizards.com

April 11, 2012 at 3:32pm
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2 / 138

kiltedyaksman

I really like 18 and 7. Especially 7. Don't reject your inheritance.

April 28, 2012 4:34 AM PDT

emicakes

Sr. Designer Leon Cortez. :)

May 3, 2012 11:17 AM PDT

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Grumph added a comment to WotC_GregB's blog post on the DnD Next group.

Beyond Class and Race
I want to play a fighter. I want to play a dwarf. I want to kick the crap...

April 10, 2012 at 10:18am
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2 / 254

Rablin

This approach is the core of a good RPG, guidelines and QuickStart rules but a solid framework for customisation. It is what I have almost always done to every RPG that tried to be too prescriptive.

July 9, 2012 6:44 AM PDT

RadperT

Couple more ideas for you–Barrister, Demagogue, Magical Duelist (please make counterspell work), Mighty Caster, Persistent Caster (saves, eschew components, spell resistance), Versatile Caster (and this is the one who messes with distance, area and duration).

August 4, 2012 4:49 PM PDT

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